Reclaimed Basketball Wood Dining Table Progress

Remember when I found these awesome sheets of basketball flooring that was being thrown away? No? Well that's ok because it was months ago and I haven't said much about them since!

My idea is to turn them into a dining room table; they are solid maple so I thought it would be pretty cool to make something like these:

I had lofty visions of at least getting the tops finished then weld the bases later; after Tiny Falcon #2 is born. Well... I'm due in 2 weeks and that has not happened. We don't necessarily need a dining room table but I did need Con-Man's Big Boy Room finished, and finish the new nursery (pics next week!). And the fact that they limited the hours in the wood shop on base (thanks a lot government cut backs!!!) I haven't had the time I thought I would to get these bad boys in shape. 

But here's what I've been doing with them in the meantime.

The first thing is taking them sheets apart. Each one is 5' x 5' and I need them broken down in order to sand and prep them for their final table top status. I knew it would be a pain but geeze...

They are held together in the back by planks of wood nailed to the maple. Lots of nails.

Neither I nor my friend who works in the wood shop could figure out an easy way to take them out. The nails are curved inside the wood so a regular hammer wouldn't take them out. So I had to snap the sharp ends off with a metal cutter. Fun times.

Once the pointy part of the nails were gone little nubs were left behind which I have to grind down further.

After all that I started sanding the finish off. I was going to use the planer for this but with the nails still in the wood it could have ruined the machine- so sanding it was.

So this:

Becomes this:

Which eventually becomes this:

And leads to this: arms covered in saw dust making me look even paler than I am.

Pretty much all the wood has been sanded down. The next step is getting all the gunk off the edges. It's a mix of dust, dirt, and glue. Gross. I've been scraping it off down piece by piece.

I probably won't be finished when I originally wanted but it's a good start. I'm thinking I can squeeze in 1 or 2 more work days before my due date. Who knows- maybe I'll even be able to glue some slabs together!

Have you ever had a project put on hold? 

Exclusive Candice Olsen Paint Colors from Benjamin Moore

I'm not going to deny it; when I'm looking for paint colors I usually head to Sherwin Williams first. Their paints are high quality, they have great colors and a good Green Story. But when I heard Benjamin Moore had teamed up with Candice Olsen to create an exclusive fan deck; I had to check it out.

You know Candice Olsen right? The awesome Interior Designer from HGTV shows such as "Divine Design" and "Candice Tells All". Love her!

Source

Source

Her designs are classic, fresh, timeless and modern all at the same time. Her rooms are ones that can stand the test of time without becoming dated or boring. 

The same can be said for her new paint collection.

Candice choose her favorite go to colors from the Benjamin Moore line and combined it into one fan deck that they say resulted "in a sophisticated, nature-inspired collection of timeless, unique color combinations for any room in your home".

The collection features 60 different colors, arranged by family, ranging from neutral to bold 

accent hues. 

You can view the entire collection online. There are a lot of good ones! 


What do you think?

Con-Man's 3rd Birthday Party

We had Con-Man's 3rd Birthday Party this weekend! We invited a few of his little friends from school and church to come celebrate with us. He had a lot of fun so I think the party was a great success!

Since it's in the 100's here we had a "Water" Themed party. I had Con-Man's pool out, water balloons, and a Kid Wash for the party goers to enjoy.

Con-Man was super excited about his Lighting McQueen cake! And he really got a kick out of us sining him Happy Birthday.

After cake and ice cream we opened presents, and i gave the guests their party favors. Sand buckets filled with anything having to do with fun in the sun; water guns, shovels, bubbles, sun glasses and of course giant gummi bears! Don't ask me what giant gummi bears have to do with sun and fun but I thought they were awesome and the kids got a kick out of them.

The party was a success and we had a blast. I was hoping Con would go to bed early that night but of course he didn't- he was to busy playing with all his new toys!!

DIY Play Kitchen

There are lots of fantastic play kitchens floating around Blog-land these days. I never thought I'd have to make one since I have a son and all. I thought if I'd have to make anything it would be a tool bench.


But lately the Con-Man has been "cooking" a lot. We'll be sitting outside and he takes his shovel, fills it with rocks and tells me he's cooking hot dogs. Then proceeds to give me some and tells me to eat it. And he has been really interesting in my cooking dinner and such.


I'm glad he's using his imagination but how can I deny my poor little guy a play kitchen? And since his birthday is coming up I thought it would make a great present.


So for the past few weeks I've been keeping my eyes peeling for a piece of furniture I can use for a play kitchen. It's not like there are tons of "boy friendly"play kitchens on the market; especially where we live. About a week ago I finally found what I was looking for!

It has several shelves and wheels for easy mobility. I painted it white with a primer/ paint combo and thought about leaving it that color. I didn't want anything to girly looking. But in the end I went with some leftover blue spray paint I had on hand.

I added a back to it by cutting down some extra plywood I had lying around. Something heavier and smoother like MDF might have been better but the plywood works well.

I used cup hooks to hang the utensils and leftover handles I bought from Ikea for Con-Man's bed for the towel bars. 

I bought some inexpensive towels from Wal-Mart and used Stitch Witchery to add the fabric; the same fabric I used to recover the pot holder that came with the play kitchen set.  

Before

We gave it to him early and he has been excited about it. He's been cooking me hot dogs and hamburgers all day!

A few more detail shots:

And one more before and after:

I'd still like to find some baskets to put the play food and plates in- attempt to keep everything organized. But for now he's having fun with it. 

In fact when I tried setting up his pots and pans for the pictures he waved me away telling my I was messing everything up. Oops- guess I should mess around in his kitchen anymore!!

Con-Man's Birthday Preparations

The Con-Man is turning 3 in a few weeks! We're having his party this weekend; early, just in case Tiny Falcon #2 makes an early appearance. I've been busy with preparations for his party. I thought I could whip up a few things for the party but being pregnant seems to make everything take twice as long!


I sent out the invitations a few weeks ago. I hand stenciled them with stencils from Hobby Lobby. We're doing a water party since the temps have been in the 100's here. I got the inspiration for them here- I liked that they were a "water" theme but not to literal.

The big thing I've been working on is a PVC Pipe Car Wash (Or Kid Wash I guess). I tried to finish it today but realized I bought some wrong connectors. Always shooting myself in the foot!

Lots of water balloons will be on hand.

We have a pretty big Kiddie Pool I'll fill up and stuff it with water toys. Like I've been seeing these Sponge Bombs all over Pinterest and it's about time I make some! And some water guns and anything else I can find that might be fun for the kids.

As for snacks we'll have the usual chips and such but I thought some fruit and other frozen goodies would be refreshing to have on hand.

And of course cake and ice cream. Though it's a water party I'm not doing a water themed cake. Con-Man's favorite character is Lighting McQueen. I've been looking at McQueen cakes online for ideas. I'm not an amazing cake decorator but I like to make his cakes myself so we'll see how this one turns out! Not sure which I'll go with yet~

Source

Source

Source

For Party Favors one of the things I'm giving are these Giant Gummi Bears! They have nothing to do with "water" theme but they were so cool and on sale. I couldn't pass them up.

The final countdown has begun and I have lots to do! Will share pics after the weekend.

What sorts of things have you done for your child's birthday? Do you like to do a lot of it yourself or do you like to dole out the tasks?